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Thibodeau on hand as Bulls roll past Clippers

Head Coach Tom Thibodeau joined his team’s Summer League squad in Las Vegas on Wednesday and must have been happy with the results he saw on the court, as the Bulls easily defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, 79-50.

Bulls guard John Lucas III led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-12 from the field, including a perfect 6-of-6 from behind the arc. Morris Almond (14 points) and Trent Plaisted (13 points) also cracked double digits for Chicago, which shot 51.8 percent from the field and held Los Angeles to 28.1 percent field goal shooting.

Derrick Rose was in attendance as well, sitting next to Pete Myers on the bench for part of the game and later catching up with Thibodeau. The two also said hello to Vinny Del Negro, who was recently named the Clippers’ Head Coach.

Prior to the game, Thibodeau spoke with Chuck Swirsky about his life since taking the job, the additions of Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, and his thoughts on Chicago’s chances to land restricted free agent shooting guard J.J. Redick.

“I would say we’re cautiously optimistic,” said Thibodeau of Redick, whom the Bulls will add if Orlando declines to match the three-year offer sheet agreed to last Friday. “We made our offer and they have the right to match. Obviously if we get him, we’ll be very excited. But if not, we’ll just move on and keep searching to find the right pieces.”

Listen to Swirsky’s interview with Tom Thibodeau now:

Swirsky also caught up with Derrick Byars, who was on Chicago’s summer league roster last year as well and reportedly was in consideration for the regular season roster. Byars, a 6-7, 220-pound guard who played collegiately at Vanderbilt, played in Berlin, Germany last year and said the two-a-day workouts during his season overseas were invaluable.

“I’m a lot more athletic than I was,” Byars told Swirsky about how his game has changed since then. “I’m healthier, which is the number one thing for me. I’ve improved by consistency on my jump shot, which is something I’ve been known for. Defensively, as well, which is going to be important if I want to make this team, as Coach Thibodeau’s staff emphasizes that a lot.”

About Adam Fluck

In his 14th full season with the Chicago Bulls, Adam is responsible for creating, producing, updating, improving and monitoring the content and business portions of the team's official website, Bulls.com … he also oversees the mybulls e-newsletter and assists with the organization’s social media efforts … Adam got his start working as an intern in the Bulls ticket department … originally from Geneseo, Ill., he attended Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., and graduated with a B.A. degree in Business Administration-Finance in May 1999.